Toddler Café Tuesday - Put Your Buns to Good Use

It's Toddler Café Tuesday. Our book has been out about a year now and I thought it was time to start sharing more of the recipes with you, my loyal readers. 

With summer on it's way  I thought I'd give you some ideas for leftovers. Last week it was using up all the crumbs in your pantry, this week how to use up buns!  You are sure to have a stray hot dog bun hiding in the back of the fridge after a fun weekend of cooking out. Put it to good use, try this recipe.

Banana Hot Dog

 

In a pinch, a plain old banana can become a hot dog! This is a funny and different way to serve this fruit. Put it in front of your child and watch their reaction. Let your kids help add the “mustard”—it may be messy, but it is sure to get them interested. And it’s a great way to use up your old hamburger or hot dog buns. Serve with banana chips for the ultimate tropical experience.

 

Makes 1 serving

 1 banana, peeled

1 whole-wheat hot dog bun

Jelly

Creamy peanut butter

Place the peeled banana in a bun. Fill 2 zip-top baggies, 1 with jelly and the other with peanut butter. Cut a tiny hole in the corner of each bag, and squeeze out onto the banana as you would mustard and ketchup. Eat and enjoy.

Variations:

•            Add crushed pistachios for a crunchy relish look-alike.

•            Cereal and dried fruit make great additional toppings.

 Toddler Tip:

•            Let your toddler have some fun squeezing out the peanut butter and jelly in crazy patterns on their plates.

 Recipe Note:

•            If you are weary of peanut butter, try soy nut or almond butter for a change.

 

 

 

Toddler Café Tuesday - Double Dippin’ Cheese Sticks

It's Toddler Café Tuesday. Our book has been out about a year now and I thought it was time to start sharing more of the recipes with you my loyal readers. 

Do you have lots of little bags of cereal and nuts in you pantry? It drives me crazy when I end up with rolled up bags of crumby stuff taking up room in my already too small snack cabinet.  This "recipe" is a great way to use up all those crumbs you will probably end up tossing in the garbage!

Double Dippin’ Cheese Sticks

 String cheese is not usually a food we need to convince our kids to eat, but this is a fun way to enjoy it. It teaches the kids about different textures, colors, and tastes—and they can double dip all they want! Choose some of the dips from the list below or create your own ideas.  Remember to teach them only double dip if it is your food, not shared!

 

Makes 1 serving

 

1 piece string cheese

 

Choose 4 of the following ingredients:

1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 tablespoon applesauce

1 tablespoon crushed pine nuts, almonds, or peanuts

1 tablespoon crushed tortilla chips

1 tablespoon crushed crackers or goldfish crackers

 

Put the dipping ingredients in separate small dishes on a plate with the cheese. Have your child dip the string cheese into each dish and discuss the different tastes. Take a bite and dip again.

Toddler Café Tuesday - Pumpkin Pockets

Lucky you...it's.....Toddler Café Tuesday. Our book has been out about a year now and I thought it was time to start sharing more of the recipes with you my loyal readers. 

Have a leftover can of pumpkin lurking in your pantry from Thanksgiving?? "What do I do with it you ask?" Get the kids and make Pumpkin Pockets!  

The sun is getting warmer and the days are getting longer and that means the kids will be playing outside more. They will want to play until the mosquitoes are buzzing and the sun is going down. I say keep them in as long as you can, cooking at your side, not because I don't like playing outside but because cooking with them is so fun!

I love having my daughter in the kitchen, sometimes it can slow me down but mostly it is wonderful. 

Here is a very easy recipe, if they like ravioli they will love making these. Make sure to let them fill and seal the pasta, they will be more likely to eat it in the end.

Pumpkin Pockets

Here is a very easy way to make homemade ravioli. Gyoza wrappers can be baked, fried, or boiled like pasta. In this case the wrappers cook up just like pasta, with a creamy inside. Serve with browned cinnamon butter, or just plain as a great finger food. Freeze extra Pockets for those nights when the kids are hungry and you’re too tired to cook. Just boil, drain, and serve.

 

Makes 60 ravioli

 

8 ounces cream cheese

One 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon kosher salt plus 1 tablespoon for pasta water

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 package (60) round gyoza wrappers (see Note)

2 tablespoons butter, for garnish

Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

 

Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on high for 30 seconds to soften. Add the pumpkin and stir to combine. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt, the nutmeg, and cinnamon, and mix with a stick blender or by hand until the filling is smooth.

 

Place a 1/2 teaspoon-sized ball of filling in the center of each wrapper. Wet the edges with water and fold the ravioli over to form half moons. Pinch to close, pressing down lightly around the mounds of filling to prevent air bubbles.

 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Gently add the ravioli, and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they float. (Depending on the size of the pot, you may have to cook them in batches.) Drain the pasta and toss them with butter and Parmesan.

 

Recipe Notes:

·      If you are cooking frozen Pumpkin Pockets, extend the cooking time to 6 minutes.

·      If you have whole nutmeg, use your micro grater or box grater to grate it into the filling.

·      Wonton wrappers are square and gyoza are round and slightly thicker, but they are essentially made of the same ingredients. You can use either for this recipe; the flavor and cooking time will be longer for gyoza.

Toddler Café Tuesday - Is Your Kid a Sourpuss?

Well, It has been a while since my last post and I am feeling a bit of bloggy guilt! I am back with a new column, Toddler Café Tuesdays. Our book has been out about a year now and I thought it was time to start sharing more of the recipes with you. For my first one I am going to share  a very easy recipe that at first glance is "just pasta," but wait.... The reason for this recipe is to get your kids used to flavors that are different from the usual ones they may be used to.  As they grow their tastes should grow too, this is a good start to expanding their taste buds.  The whole point of Toddler Café is to get creative you can use this recipe as a base for a million variations.

I love to add zucchini or wilted fresh spinach to this dish.  Now they will know lemons aren't just for sweets!  

Pucker up Psghetti 
If your child takes the lemon out of your water and sucks on them when you are at a restaurant then they will love this recipe. This recipe is based on something kids love, spaghetti but with a twist light and slightly tangy. A great dish in Summer or Winter serve room temperature or warm.
Makes 4 servings
(I always use kosher salt it has 1/2 the saltyness of table salt)

Zest of 1/2 of a lemon
1/8 cup Fresh lemon juice, about two lemons
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese and extra for garnish
1/2-teaspoon salt
1/2 lb cooked spaghetti, warm
Zest lemon in to a large bowl, whisk in lemon juice, olive oil, cheese, and salt into a bowl.
Add spaghetti and toss to coat. Serve warm.

Try adding
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed. White beans or grated raw zucchini.
Substitute Soba, Udon Noodles or spinach pasta.

Tell them it is a bowl of worms and try to slurp them before they slither out of the bowl.

Let them sprinkle the cheese on themselves to keep them interested.